Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | October 29, 2018 | wbjournal.com Hedlund declined to comment for this story but said in August aer the PawSox and Worcester reached a deal that the town was an underdog against Worcester. "Worcester was the front-runner, but we weren't dusted right out of the gate," Hedlund told e Patriot Ledger. "We thought we could emerge as the surprise victor." Looking for an urban setting Weymouth's location beared similarities to the Canal District site in Worcester where the PawSox are expecting to begin play in 2021. In Weymouth, it is just half a mile from an MBTA commuter rail station and three-quarters of a mile from Route 18. LStar, the developer of the Union Point development on a former military base, was to donate the land to the town to build the stadium. Worcester has committed to building the PawSox a stadium on city-owned land aer buying it from Texas manu- facturer Wyman-Gordon. Weymouth proposed issuing a $100-million bond. Worcester ap- proved a $101-million bond for its stadium. Like Worcester's deal, Weymouth proposed a 30-year lease from the team. In Weymouth's case, the team would have paid less annually than in Worcester — $750,000 compared to roughly $1 million — in the first 15 years of the agreement. In the next 15 years, it would pay $1 million a year. Like Worcester's deal, the PawSox were entitled to keep all revenue streams from the ballpark. In Weymouth's proposal, the team Worcester vs. Pawtucket vs. Weymouth Public financing $101 million from city, $32 million from the state $85 million ballpark paid by town $35 million from state* and $15 million from the city Team contribution $6 million upfront $12 million upfront $0 upfront Revenue Team keeps all concession, Team keeps all concession, advertising and ticket revenue Not available advertising and ticket revenue Total team lease payments $30 million $33 million $26.3 million Stadium cost** $101 million $83 million $85 million Worcester Pawtucket Weymouth Before the Pawtucket Red Sox decided to move to Worcester for a new stadium in 2021, they had at least three offers from New England cities. Here is how they compared. *State money is for a parking garage for the Canal District and does not include costs for remaking Kelley Square, which are not yet determined but will be paid by the state. **Including site acquisition and non-construction costs Sources: Worcester letter of intent, Weymouth draft memorandum of understanding, Providence Journal, Pawtucket Red Sox General Manager Dan Rea Continued from previous page and the town would have split nam- ing-rights revenue evenly beyond the first $500,000, which the team would pocket. In Worcester, the team will keep all that money. It isn't clear how many other cities were serious contenders for the team, and PawSox officials have never said, except to say 20 communities were at one time under consideration. Providence was a first choice for a new park by the PawSox until oppo- sition to the plan made the team look back to Pawtucket. Officials in Fall River and Springfield made comments related to potentially drawing the team, but talks appear to have never gained momentum in either city. In Fall River, e Herald News reported Mayor Jasiel Correia cooled to the idea of attracting the team aer initially reaching out in 2016. Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno told MassLive in the summer of 2017 the city would love to have the team but he was skeptical of how serious PawSox Chairman Larry Lucchino was in moving the team. e city said it didn't have any written or email correspondence with the team in response to a record request from the WBJ. "He'll play cities against each other," Sarno told MassLive. "If Mr. Lucchino is serious about this, he couldn't find a better place than Springfield." W

• Cover